DARPA (www.darpa.mil) is throwing a "bridging the gap" conference in anaheim on march 9-11. DARPA funds military research including robotic tanks under the name of "shared innovation"
Pentagon Watching You: Latest Developments On Surveillance Front (tags)
All technologies developed can and most likely will be used on US citizens; DARPA's open bidding announcements are simply one way they have to periodically deal with the fact that the media eventually learns about what they are doing.